SNL celebrates 40 years of comedy, without Latinos
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It's old news really.
"Saturday Night Live," which celebrated its 40th season with a three-and-a-half hour, star-studded tribute on Sunday, has had only two Latino cast members during its long tenure: Horatio Sanz and Fred Armisen. Two out of 141. In case you were wondering, that works out to about 1.45 percent. If we were talking baseball batting averages, SNL would have been considered very, very bad indeed (to twist and repurpose the catchphrase of Garrett Morris' iconic "Latino" character, Chico Escuela) and been sent down to the minors a long time ago.
Instead, the venerable comedy show threw one hell of a shindig for itself, with cameos by nearly every living member of the cast and popular guest hosts from 1975 onward; moments of breath-catching poignancy (a snippet of Paul Simon's rendition of The Boxer from the show immediately after 9/11) and sheer stupidity (the execrable and interminable The Californians skit), as well as the admission by Steve Martin that it was all very much like a high school reunion, for a school "that is almost all white."
Bingo.
This lack of representation hasn't gone without notice. Chairman and co-founder of the National Hispanic Foundation for the Arts in Washington, D.C., Félix Sánchez, wrote at Latino Rebels about his organization's history of arguing for inclusion at SNL via its parent network Comcast/NBC Universal.
"We are welcomed to be part of the audience," Sánchez wrote, "but not part of the show."
As the anniversary special aired, it wasn't only Sánchez making note of the lack. Veteran journalist Soledad O'Brien engaged in a lively back and forth about SNL on twitter:
@latinorebels it's NYC: maybe hard to find a Latino in any of the boroughs?
— Soledad O'Brien (@soledadobrien) February 16, 2015
“@latinorebels: @soledadobrien you think you can help them? :)”//I live in manhattan. No Latinos here, but I will ask around.
— Soledad O'Brien (@soledadobrien) February 16, 2015
@mamasnark @latinorebels sarcasm, boo. Latinos make up nearly 28 percent of the population of NYC.
— Soledad O'Brien (@soledadobrien) February 16, 2015
@visualanteMiami @mamasnark @latinorebels babe, I've been having this same conversation for 27 years.
— Soledad O'Brien (@soledadobrien) February 16, 2015
Maria Hinojosa, anchor and executive producer of Latino USA on National Public Radio, joined in too:
“@CeceF: @soledadobrien @latinorebels no latinos in Manhattan?” no Latinos Cuz we don't live in NYC & don't watch tv. Ever. Sigh.
— Maria Hinojosa (@Maria_Hinojosa) February 16, 2015
Hopefully, by the time SNL hits it 50th anniversary show, its legacy of inclusion will be vastly improved, and we'll all be laughing along with the show instead of tweeting about it.
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